Dear Osa friends,
The sun is showing its face a bit more these days, the bulbs are peeking out of the ground, and the birds are chirping in the dawn light. Spring feels near! Time to lighten the load and clean up a bit. We’re going to do both in this week’s letter! Thanks for being here.
If you’ve been feeling heavier rather than lighter, even with this optimistic change of season, you are not alone. The world is indeed a heavy place to live in. But remember that it’s within our power to lighten the load for ourselves and those around us. If you’ve fallen out of any stress management habit you may have started previously, here is an invitation to simply begin again. Remember that simply beginning again is always an option, whether we’re talking about eating our greens or managing our stress. Stay tuned for an upcoming post on specific mindfulness exercises for unburdening a heavy heart.
Right now, with a nod to the budding springtime, we’re thinking green and diving into a brief discussion of the detoxification benefits of brassicas. Time for spring cleaning for your body! Read all the way through for one of my favorite broccoli recipes. Enjoy!
Spring Cleaning with Brassicas!🥦
Among edible greens, brassicas are really nutritional celebrities. Brassica is a genus within the Brassicaceae family. They are also commonly referred to as crucifers, deriving from the Latin crux (“cross”) because the flowers of these plants have four petals arranged in a cross shape. You know them by their slightly spicy, pungent, sulfurous qualities–these are broccoli, kale, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, cabbages, mustard greens, mizuna, pak choi, and more!
Brassicas contain an impressive array of micronutrients and minerals that support health. But what I think is more interesting about brassicas is that they provide robust support to the body’s natural detoxification processes, and they do this in a number of different ways. Here I’ll touch on three different ways that brassicas provide detoxification benefits.
But first, what is detoxification?
This term broadly refers to the processes that the body uses to convert waste products into forms that are prepared to be excreted from the body via urine, stool, and sweat. I think of it as a sort of “taking out the trash”.
Common waste products that need to be eliminated include spent hormones, old cells, products of protein breakdown, pharmaceuticals, caffeine and other chemicals we ingest, environmental toxins, etcetera. (Carbon dioxide is also a waste product that is excreted via the lungs). We need our detoxification pathways to hum along smoothly to keep our tissues healthy. When thinking about supporting detoxification, the mantra that you want to remember is “plants and protein.” This is because the phases of detoxification require amino acids from protein, and micronutrients and antioxidant support from plants.
So, when considering how brassicas factor in, they are providing both micronutrient and antioxidant support. Now, let’s take a closer look.
Three Detoxification Benefits of Brassicas🥬
- Cancer-protective mechanisms
Compounds in brassicas called glucosinolates are metabolized in the body into bioactive compounds (such as isothiocyanates, and many others) that signal cells to upregulate their antioxidant defenses.
The way this happens is very cool: there is a protein called Nrf2 which is inactive inside cells because it is bound by another protein (called Keap1, for your nerds out there). Isothiocyanates (as well as other “signals” including caloric restriction and exercise) cause Nrf2 to release from its bound protein. It then goes to the cell nucleus, where it prompts the synthesis of certain proteins–namely, antioxidants like glutathione, and enzymes that help the body utilize these antioxidants to convert toxins and waste products into neutral forms for excretion from the body. This process protects cells from the oxidative damage of environmental toxins and other stressors that can otherwise create a pro-cancer environment in the cell.1
2. Anti-microbial polyphenols
Brassicas contain a number of different chemical compounds called polyphenols which, in addition to feeding certain healthful bacteria, act as gentle anti-microbials against pathogens. Polyphenols are the colorful component of plants. In brassicas, they are often in green or purple pigments. They work against helicobacter pylori, a bacteria which can proliferate in the stomach and is an important underlying case of ulcers and stomach cancer, and they also help protect against a number of foodborne pathogenic bacteria such as Listeria and E.coli.2
3. Soluble fiber
Soluble fiber is our greatest nutritional ally when it comes to clearing cholesterol from the body. This is because it binds bile in the gut, and bile is made from cholesterol. By binding bile, soluble fiber aids the body in excreting cholesterol, as well as other waste products that are bound in bile, such as spent hormones, medications, and old red blood cells. Soluble fiber also helps your stool form in a nice consistency that is easy to pass. (AND, as we’ve discussed previously, soluble fiber feeds the gut microbes that produce short-chain fatty acids which stimulate GLP-1 production, thereby promoting satiety and blood sugar regulation.)
Broccoli, turnips, and brussels sprouts all boast higher soluble fiber content than comparable amounts of other vegetables. Each cup of these vegetables supplies 3-4 grams of soluble fiber. Keep in mind a daily goal of 20 grams of soluble fiber for optimal health.
But what about goitrogens?
Some people are concerned about eating brassicas because they contain compounds called goitrogens. Goitrogens are compounds found in some brassicas that block iodine uptake by the thyroid gland. Because iodine is an essential component of thyroid hormone, goitrogens can hinder thyroid hormone production. This can lead to the development of a goiter because, in the absence of circulating thyroid hormone, the brain continues to send out a signal (i.e., thyroid-stimulating hormone) to the thyroid gland to produce thyroid hormone, and this stimulation ultimately enlarges the dysfunctional thyroid gland.
Fortunately, light sauteing or steaming for a short duration (2-4 minutes) preserves the beneficial phytonutrients while largely reducing the goitrogenic ones.3 Iodine insufficiency creates a vulnerabiity to the iodine-blocking potential of goitrogenic compounds; however, iodine deficiency is rare in this country. You can ensure iodine sufficiency in your diet by including seafood, eggs, and/or dairy products, and by mixing a bit of iodized salt into the sea salt you use for cooking. When in doubt, invest in an intracellular micronutrient test to get a clear picture of your baseline level. Too much iodine is as harmful as not enough, so please never take an iodine supplement without first establishing that you have a need for it.
Osa’s Fave Roasted Brassicas🥗
Give it try it and report back!
Ingredients
~2 pounds of broccoli, cauliflower, and/or brussels sprouts, cut into florets (halve brussels sprouts)*
1-2 shallots or 1 onion, sliced (optional but delicious)
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil or avocado oil
2 tablespoons coconut aminos
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
Directions
Preheat the oven to 400F. Place cut vegetables in a large bowl. Whisk together the olive oil, coconut aminos, and mustard. Pour over vegetables and stir with a wooden spoon or spatula to even coat.
Dump the vegetables out onto a sheet pan and spread evenly. Roast in the oven for about 20 minutes, or until cooked to your liking.
Makes about four 1.5 cup servings.
*1 pound of broccoli equals about 3 small-medium stalks. 1 pound of cauliflower is about 1/2 of a head.
As always, thanks for reading. Please sign up below to receive future blog posts and other news from the Osa cave in your inbox!
Warmly,
References
- Wagner, A. E., Terschluesen, A. M., & Rimbach, G. (2013). Health promoting effects of brassica-derived phytochemicals: from chemopreventive and anti-inflammatory activities to epigenetic regulation. Oxidative medicine and cellular longevity, 2013, 964539. https://doi.org/10.1155/2013/964539 https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3885109/
- Zhang, X., Jia, Q., Jia, X., Li, J., Sun, X., Min, L., Liu, Z., Ma, W., & Zhao, J. (2024). Brassica vegetables-an undervalued nutritional goldmine. Horticulture research, 12(2), uhae302. https://doi.org/10.1093/hr/uhae302 https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11822409/
- Panduang, T., Phucharoenrak, P., Karnpanit, W., & Trachootham, D. (2023). Cooking Methods for Preserving Isothiocyanates and Reducing Goitrin in Brassica Vegetables. Foods (Basel, Switzerland), 12(19), 3647. https://doi.org/10.3390/foods12193647 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37835300/
Disclaimer: The content of this newsletter and any linked content does not constitute medical advice and is for general informational purposes only. Please consult with your healthcare provider to determine whether diet or supplement changes are right for you.